Image © Pacific Press

Sabbath Afternoon

Read  for This Week’s Study: Ephesians 4:17-32; Colossians 3:1-17; Zechariah 3:3-5; Zechariah 8:16; Isaiah 63:10; Romans 8:16, Romans 8:26-27.

Memory Text: “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness”(Ephesians 4:22-24, NIV).

Jose Antonio lived on the streets of Palma, Spain, as a homeless man for years. With gray, straggly hair and beard, Jose looked older than his 57 years. One day, Salva Garcia, the owner of a hair salon, approached Jose and proposed a complete makeover.

With Jose in the salon chair, a hardworking team cut, dyed, and styled the tangled bundles of hair and beard. Next, Jose then got new stylish clothes. Then came the reveal! As Jose sat in front of a mirror, tears came. “Is this me? I’m so different; no one is going to recognize me!” Later he would add, “It wasn’t just a change of looks. It changed my life.”

In Ephesians 4:17-32, Paul argues that believers have experienced a complete transformation. They have taken off their old selves and have embraced their new identity. Somewhat like Jose’s change, though, this is no mere external transformation. It includes being “renewed in the spirit of your minds” (Ephesians 4:23, ESV), bringing into the life “true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:24, ESV). This is the ultimate makeover.

Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, August 19.

Sunday–>

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The Mission program of the Seventh-day Adventist Church is an opportunity for us to understand the needs of others and share in supporting them. Please click on the image below to watch the Mission Spotlight presentation for this week: [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACard5ophGg&w=560&h=315]

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A Genuine Sacrifice? Part 4

By Andrew McChesney

About a year passed. Almira prayed and read the Bible every night to keep the evil spirit at bay. She attended church every Sabbath, enduring painful criticism and even threats from parents, relatives, and neighbors. But the rest of her life remained unchanged. She went to school on weekdays and often partied with friends at clubs on nights and weekends.

Image © Pacific Press

At 18, Almira reached a crossroads in her Christian faith. She came across a question that she could not answer. She couldn’t understand why the Bible called Jesus’ death a sacrifice. To her, Jesus’ death didn’t seem like a sacrifice. While He was cruelly persecuted and crucified, He surely knew that he would be resurrected, so how was His death a sacrifice? In contrast, Almira faced persecution every Sabbath, and she felt like she had sacrificed her relationship with her parents, relatives, and friends for Jesus. She had no idea how her story would end. She seemed to have made a greater sacrifice.

Stumped, she prayed for an answer. “Jesus,” she said, “I have read that I need to openly tell You about my worries and You will answer. Here’s what I propose: I will read about Your life in the gospels and The Desire of Ages every day. Please reveal to me what Your death on the cross means and why Your sacrifice was so great.”

Almira didn’t really want to read the Bible or Ellen White’s The Desire of Ages, but she forced herself to read both every day. At first, she fought boredom as she read. She didn’t have a close relationship with Jesus. Even though she worshiped on Sabbath, she lived her own life during the week.

Almira kept reading and finally found an answer. She read in The Desire of Ages, “Satan with his fierce temptations wrung the heart of Jesus. The Saviour could not see through the portals of the tomb. Hope did not present to Him His coming forth from the grave a conqueror, or tell Him of the Father’s acceptance of the sacrifice. He feared that sin was so offensive to God that Their separation was to be eternal” (753).

This was the answer to her prayer. Jesus also had been afraid that He would die forever, but He had been ready to take the risk for her. It struck her that He had not known the end, just as she did not know how her story would end. But He had risked His eternal life to save her.

Amazed by such infinite love, she poured out her heart in prayer. “Jesus, even if no one else on earth follows You, I will follow You,” she said.

She decided to give her life to Jesus in baptism.

Read more about Almira next week. Thank you for your mission offerings that help spread the gospel in Russia and around the world.

Produced by the General Conference Office of Adventist Mission. Find more mission stories at adventistmission[dot]org

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Further Thought:  Two notes help to expand our study of Ephesians 4:7-10:

1. Translating Ephesians 4:9. Some translations indicate that the descent occurs before the ascent (e.g., NKJV, “He also first descended”; KJV, RSV, ESV, NASB). Other translations follow the Greek text more closely, leaving the issue of the timing of the ascent and descent open (e.g., NIV, “What does ‘he ascended’ mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions?” ASV, HCSB, LEB, NLT), which allows for the view, expressed in Tuesday’s study, that the narrative order of Psalm 68:18 should be followed, with Christ’s exaltation to heaven (the “ascent”) occurring first, followed by His “descent” in the Spirit.

Image © Stan Myers from GoodSalt.com

2. Leading captivity captive. In quoting Psalm 68:18 from the Greek Old Testament, called the Septuagint (an ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament), Paul uses a phrase in Ephesians 4:8 that reads literally, “he took captive captivity” (reflected in some translations, e.g., KJV, NKJV, NRSV), but which is widely affirmed to mean, “he took as prisoners a group of captives” (reflected in the ESV, NASB, NIV, etc.). Seventh-day Adventists have often understood the phrase to refer to Christ’s act of taking back with Him to heaven, at His ascension, those raised in a special resurrection at the time of His own resurrection (Matthew 27:51-53). These constitute a “wave sheaf,” firstfruits of the redeemed, that He presents to the Father on His return to the courts of heaven (see The SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 6, p. 1022; The Desire of Ages, p. 834, compare The Desire of Ages, Pages 785, 786). Alternatively, in line with Colossians 2:15, the passage could be taken, as a picture of Christ’s conquest over His foes — Satan and his evil angels — who are portrayed as defeated captives.

Discussion Questions:

<–Thursday

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p>Join It Is Written Sabbath School host Eric Flickinger and this quarter’s author, Dr John McVay, as they provide additional insights into this week’s Sabbath School lesson
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRhUePc-dsk&w=560&h=315]

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